Freddie Freeman- ATL- Hot- Freeman went 2-for-4 with his second homer of the young month. This broke a 3-game hitless streak for him. His Batting EYE has dropped this year from .37 to .29 but is at .67 over his last 8 games. Freeman's ISO is up to .192 this season from .166 last year and is on pace to surpass his rookie homer, run and RBI totals. It looks like he will provide value in the second half.
Jordy Mercer- PIT- Rookie- Mercer was called up again by the Pirates. He hit 19 homers a year ago between AA and AAA and looked like a middle infield power prospect. He regressed this season and has only 4 long balls in 236 AAA PAs. His .287 average was helped by a .346 BABIP, so Mercer isn't really even at sleeper level right now.
Yasmani Grandal- SD- Hot- Grandal was back in the starting lineup and extended his hitting streak to 4 games. He didn't homer, but did double and score the winning run in a 1-for-4 day. In addition to the 4 homers he has hit, Grandal has 6 runs scored and 6 RBI in his first week as a starting major league catcher. He has yet to walk but his 1.03 Batting EYE at AAA this year bodes well for Grandal being a solid contributor to the Padres even when he's not visiting Colorado and Arizona.
Edinson Volquez- SD- Hot- Volquez has thrown 3 straight quality starts, allowing 12 hits, 2 ER and striking out 22 in 19.2 IP in that span. It's not time to jump on a bandwagon yet, though. Volquez hasn't conquered his control issues. He has walked a dozen batters in those 3 starts also and hasn't thrown fewer than 115 pitches in any of them. Since he is 29 years old, the walks are actually the more worrying of those two factors and they are big.
Norichika Aoki- MIL- Hot- Aoki has been on fire early in July, going 8-for-18 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored in 5 games. He has been enjoying some good luck, with a .500 BABIP in the month. This could actually be a little regression working in his favor. With Aoki's speed, his .324 BABIP for the season isn't unreasonable. He has already reached his projected 10 steals for the season and with a .300 average right now the projection on .294 might also be a little low. Aoki is a multiple category contributor.
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